‘Surrender is not an option’: pro-life leaders react to Obama re-election

November 6, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The man that pro-life leaders have called “the most pro-abortion president in U.S. history” has been re-elected, according to projections by major mainstream media outlets.

Obama snagged the race after apparently taking key swing states, including Virginia, Ohio, and New Hampshire. CBN News, CNN, Fox News, and the New York Times have all projected Obama as the winner.

Pro-life leaders took to Facebook, posting messages expressing their frustration at the outcome, as well as expressing hope that pro-life grassroots will continue to advance the pro-life cause despite a pro-abortion presidency.

“Our work to defend the lives of the most vulnerable and to promote human dignity is not dependent on an election,” said Live Action President Lila Rose. “This is a fight for each person, one person at a time. We will only work harder, hope and trust more, and ask God to make our lives a reflection of His love which never disappoints.”

“Time to pray, my friends,” wrote former Planned Parenthood clinic manager Abby Johnson. “Time to get involved in the prolife grassroots movement. We are disappointed, but not out of fight. We will still save babies, with God’s help. We will still save souls, with God’s help. We are sad…but we still fight…and we pray.”

“These are the times that will chisel boys into men, and girls into women. The next greatest generation is already here and being called upon to stand against tyranny,” said Troy Newman of Operation Rescue.

“I know many are going to bed very disappointed with the election results,” said Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition. “I know how you feel! It will take several weeks to analyze the data and get a sense of what happened. However, when I put my head on the pillow here is what I rejoice in:

“Exodus 15:2: ‘The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.’ Christ is King. Blessings!”

The team at Personhood USA posted a message urging supporters to “renew your commitment to the preborn.”

“Regardless of the outcome of today’s election, we must all understand that the President of the United States is not going to abolish abortion for us,” they said. “We have to do it.

“We have to do it without compromise, and we have to do it NOW, because every day that passes marks the deaths of over 3,000 innocent human beings. Please join us in refusing to compromise on human life. We need to fight for 100% of the preborn babies, 100% of the time.”

Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America also posted a message. “I know many of us are still disappointed by last night’s results, but, this morning, I want to just remind you of one thing: Surrender is not an option,” she said. “And we must march forward, courageously, because, no matter who is President today or in January, abortion is still happening.”

Hawkins added, “With last night’s presidential election results in, we now know what our next step must be: De-funding America’s Abortion Goliath, Planned Parenthood. And we can’t rely on our President to help us. We must do it.”

In a message to supporters, Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the Susan B. Anthony List, wrote: “Let me make one thing clear: the pro-life cause did not lose tonight, Mitt Romney did.

“It is with a heavy heart that I say that he ran a campaign purely on economic issues – and time and time again did not go on offense on our issue,” she said. “Polling this cycle and historical voting trends show that the pro-life issue isn’t only the right thing to do, but it is the winning thing to do politically. I’m afraid Mitt Romney and his team failed to recognize this. We will need to work on this too.”

Pro-life activists had described this race as one of the most important - if not the most important - in U.S. history. With an incumbent who has expressed support for abortion-on-demand through all nine months pregnancy, and a challenger who vowed to oppose abortion in all but the most extreme cases, the choice seemed clear. But in the midst of a major recession, abortion took a back seat to the economy. Romney himself, while far more to the right on abortion than Obama, was one of least vocal of the Republican primary candidates in articulating the pro-life position, instead opting to focus on economic issues.

Also at issue was religious freedom. Pro-life activists and Catholic leaders had banked upon a Romney administration scrapping the so-called HHS birth control mandate, which the country’s Catholic bishops have labeled an unprecedented attack upon freedom of religion. Despite widespread criticism, Obama has continued to defend the mandate, even in its current form without any meaningful religious exemption. Some religious leaders have warned that under the mandate, the future of Catholic health care as well as other charities is in jeopardy.